We have an extremely engaging and timely program planned for this year’s Funding Forward in Minneapolis, MN. To help you get ready for the conversations at our annual conference of grantmakers committed to LGBTQ issues, we thought we would compile some pre-readings. Enjoy!

Money for the Midwest: LGBTQ Assets and Opportunities in the Midwest

One in five LGBT adults lives in the U.S Midwest. Laws, policies and protections for LGBTQ people vary widely here. The region is home to states with full legal protections (relationship, housing, employment, bullying) and states where you can get married today, fired tomorrow and arrested for using a public restroom the next. So what are the lived experiences of LGBTQ people living in this region right now? Thursday morning's plenary will paint a picture of the landscape of LGBTQ philanthropy in the Midwest coupled with stories from activists and organizers to illuminate the lived-experience of the LGBTQ and progressive movements in this place. (Get more details on the session here).

Out of the Closet, Out of the Shadow: LGBTQ Leadership in the Struggle Against Deportation

Recent immigrant rights activism has been marked by a striking number of LGBTQ participants, among other groups, who have asserted a common cause and contributed mightily. Their leadership and involvement has had a transformative effect, raising broader awareness of the harsh and inequitable consequences of flawed immigration laws and policy, ultimately contributing to the pressure on the Obama administration to expand a program offering temporary legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in 2014. (Get more details on the session here).

Community centers, which are some of the oldest organizations in the LGBT movement, provide an array services to LGBT people: social/recreational, health, job training and support for community building/organizing. This plenary highlights approaches that two funders have used to partner with centers to meaningfully impact the lived experience of queer people, particularly in non-coastal areas, and explores lessons learned when national funders partner locally. (Get more details on the session here).

Trans Justice Funding and Organizing: Honoring Legacies and Building Futures

With the recent passage of same-sex marriage, increased visibility of transgender people in the media, and the growing momentum around the Black Lives Matter movement, there has also been an increased occurrence of violence targeting trans and gender nonconforming people particularly trans women of color, continued criminalization and incarceration of Black and Brown trans and gender nonconforming people, and the introduction of discriminatory city and state policies. Now more than ever, LGBTQ funders and other progressive racial and economic justice funders must invest in supporting the work and lives of trans and gender nonconforming people and communities. (Get more details on the session here).

Women’s philanthropy and LGBTQ philanthropy have developed as distinct sectors despite a growing awareness that our communities and issues overlap. This session will highlight some examples of funders that have taken steps to adopt an approach that builds on the connection between gender and sexuality issues. We will feature a number of Women’s and Reproductive Justice funders that have incorporated LGBTQ grantmaking into their portfolios, high-level strategies, and organizational missions to discuss their stories, their strategies, and the outcomes of their grantmaking. Rye Young of Third Wave Fund and Surina Khan of the California Women’s Foundation will co-host this dialogue in an effort to encourage collaborate and partnership. We’ll discuss how and why these shifts occurred, and what it might mean about our shared history, and future. (Get more details on the session here).